Copper futures (HG=F) tanked as much as 19% on Wednesday after a much-anticipated Trump administration directive to impose 50% tariffs on the industrial metal carved out an exemption for refined copper, used in a wide range of industries.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Copper futures saw their largest intraday fall on record after the announcement, tumbling to around $4.55 per pound.
On Wednesday, the White House announced that starting on Aug. 1, it will impose 50% tariffs on “semi-finished” copper products.
However, “copper input materials (such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes, and anodes) and copper scrap” are not subject to the tariffs. Cathodes are pure sheets of copper used in everything from wiring to autos, construction, and machinery.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
Earlier this month, copper futures surged as imports spiked to record levels ahead of the proposed tariffs. JPMorgan analysts estimated that over the past six months, the US has imported nearly a year’s worth of copper from abroad.
“The real reason for today’s decline is that the increase in the copper price was panic-driven based on anticipation of refined metal having to bear that same tariff,” Warwick Smith, CEO of American Pacific Mining Corp (USGDF), told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday.
The import rush followed a February executive order that designated copper a critical national security material, prompting a Commerce Department investigation into whether imports threaten domestic supply chains.
Leading up to Wednesday’s announcement, analysts had anticipated that individual countries could negotiate deals to omit their copper exports.
Industry experts say the US currently imports about 50% of the copper it needs for use across an array of industries, from construction to autos to data centers.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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